Shakespeare Al Fresco

Back in the 16th century when William
Shakespeare was writing and performing his plays, they were presented in
theaters where nature was often close at hand and with open sky
overhead: Many of the venues, including London’s Globe Theatre,
Shakespeare’s theatrical home, were without roofs. “Groundlings,” the
rabble who paid almost nothing to stand in the exposed central area and
boo at the villains and cheer for the heroes, were exposed to the
elements. That meant that Shakespeare’s plays needed to be broadly
conceived with large, identifiable characters and powerful stories. It’s
also why we still look forward to productions “in the park” where
outdoor performance makes them come to life. Such events and festivals
dot the countryside in English-speaking countries, near and far, with
names like “Bard on the Beach,” “Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan” and
the “Free Will Shakespeare Festival.”

The best known of these has been going on
annually for a half-century in New York City’s Central Park. The
Delacorte Theater, built specifically for these July and August
performances, is an open-air amphitheater with a seating capacity of
1,800. For the summer of 2012, two brilliantly conceived productions are
making full use of the al fresco setting — Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy As You Like It, set in the Forest of Arden, and Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods,
a musical fairytale mash-up with a cast that features Academy Award
nominee Amy Adams and Tony Award winner Donna Murphy. These productions
are typically among the most sought-after tickets of the summer in a
city awash in theater. Performances are free, but the demand is such
that tickets need to be offered through an online lottery system.

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The
evening performances are as much for celebrity-watching as for
theatergoing, what with a bountiful turnout of actors’ friends and other
notables.

You won’t have to work quite so hard —
nor will you be surrounded by such A-list personages — for Cincinnati
Shakespeare Company’s “Shakespeare in the Park Tour.” Rather than focus
on one venue, CSC delivers its productions to more than a dozen parks
and venues throughout the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area.
Several performances are sponsored by “ArtsWave Presents.” The
organization that raises funds to support Cincinnati’s varied arts
organizations does its part to foster and encourage art across Greater
Cincinnati, and their support is enabling evenings anchored by the Cincy
Shakes team with added audience participation elements for the entire
family.

The first of CSC’s touring performances will be on Saturday with the 7 p.m. opening of The Tempest
at Seasongood Pavilion in Eden Park. The tale of Prospero, a powerful
sorcerer, and his innocent daughter Miranda marooned on a desert island
is being staged by CSC company member Billy Chace; seven acting
apprentices form the touring company — Charlie Cromer, Travis Emery,
Jessie Wray Goodman, Sam Rabinovitz, Maggie Lou Rader and Zach Schutte —
which adapts to each park and venue they visit. Most of the actors play
multiple roles. (Macbeth has more than 20 characters). The Tempest
will be repeated on Sunday evening at McDonald Commons Park in Madeira
and on Aug. 11 on the lawn at Clifton Cultural Arts Center. ArtsWave
supports the Washington Park performance on Sept. 9. (Go to www.cincyshakes.com for a schedule.)

CSC’s tour adds Macbeth to its mix
starting on Aug. 12, when it opens at Washington Park in
Over-the-Rhine, certain to become a new favorite spot for outdoor
performances. A stop in West Chester’s Keehner Park on Aug. 18 is
supported by ArtsWave. Macbeth will be performed in Eden Park on
Aug. 31. This production, staged by CSC veteran actress and director
Sara Clark, uses the same set of actors as The Tempest.

CSC’s Macbeth is likely to be a
more traditional reduction of the story of murderous ambition than one
by the National Theatre of Scotland that recently featured Alan Cumming
in a one-man version of the horrific narrative. It spent two weeks in
early July indoors at New York City’s Lincoln Center, where it earned
rave reviews for its inventive reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s
powerful tragedy. It was set in the clinical green-tiled room of a
psychiatric ward where Cumming played a lone patient, inhabiting each
role himself, including some of Shakespeare’s most complex and troubled
characters. That approach might not work outdoors, but wouldn’t it be
fascinating to see? In the meantime, brush up your Shakespeare in a park
closer to home — or in a part of town where you’d like to have an
outing.